A while back (possibly even a year back), I read an interview with an author called Kate Frost. Her then newly released book, Beneath The Apple Blossom, looked to be something that would be of interest to me.

The Blurb:

Four women, linked by blood ties, friendship, betrayal, loss and hope, struggle with the choices they’ve made and the hand that life’s dealt them.

All Pippa’s ever wanted is marriage and kids, but at thirty-four and about to embark on IVF, her dream of having a family is far from certain. Her younger sister Georgie has the opposite problem, juggling her career, her lover, a young daughter and a husband who wants baby number two.

Pippa’s best friend Sienna has a successful career in the film world, and despite her boyfriend pressurising her to settle down, a baby is the last thing she wants. Happily married Connie shares the trauma of fertility treatment with Pippa, but underestimates the impact being unable to conceive will have on her and her marriage.

As their lives collide in a way they could never have predicted, will any of them get to see their hopes realised?
…

As I read it I was amazed at how emotional it made me feel. I remembered the time when we were struggling. The anacronyms like 2ww and BFN and BFP flooded back, as I remembered the wonderful forum I had joined when we were struggling with conceiving, and after, for the support of others in the same situation.

It’s true though, not every woman wants to be a mother. And not everyone can make a good one either.

But the pain that accidental pregnancies can cause to others, I’ve experienced that too, while we were in the midst of our own journey. Hearing about someone talking about a baby that wasn’t expected or wanted, was like a knife being plunged into my womb, and twisted. Yes

Yes.

It felt that extreme.

Yet when there were others who were expecting, and it was a much longed for baby, I was overjoyed for the parents-to-be.

Deep down I knew that one day, our turn would come. And it did, twice, with two angel babies in between.

What a great book!
Having been through fertility struggles of my own, it was amazing how I related to a lot of the issues faced by 2 of the main characters in this book.
It’s very true, that as much as some women crave to be mothers, there are those that really don’t feel it’s for them, and this book explored both sides of the same coin.
The realistic writing brought back some painful memories for me, but also that sense of camaraderie that I too felt in a very special online forum that I had also joined while trying to conceive.

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What a lovely surprise to see your review of Beneath the Apple Blossom, Ritu – many thanks for posting it to Goodreads and Amazon. I’m so pleased you liked it and yes to every one of those feelings. Like you, the camaraderie of the online forum I was part of while going through fertility treatment was wonderful and indeed the starting point of writing this story. x

It is so true that every woman’s story is unique. And for all those that long for babies there are those that are delivered a fluttering new life in their womb and it spells disaster. That we have some sort of choice now must be a good thing. I am fortunate in one regard … I never had to face the pain of infertility though I did teach ante natal classes for many years and had several couples whose babies had been conceived in a variety of different medical interventions. And so longed for they were. I do, though know the pain and trauma of having to make a decision when the timing seemed about as bad as it could be (she is now 22 by the way) … that held drama and emotion beyond anything I had ever experienced. Great review and a book I will certainly buy. 🙂

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I'm a working mum of 2, wife to a great hubby and generally like to talk too much, so waffling on my blog is probably a good idea as I can talk/write and if you wanna listen/read you can, if not, scroll on!